Legal Commentary

Assistant Prosecutor Fired For Misconduct

By TChris

In a rare display of ethical responsibility, an assistant prosecutor has been fired and referred for disciplinary charges after he ignored evidence that proved the defendant was elsewhere when the murder with which he was charged was committed. TalkLeft discussed the wrongful conviction of Claude McCollum earlier this year.

Without providing details, the county prosecutor in Ingham County, Michigan announced the firing of Eric Matwiejczyk at a news conference yesterday. The prosecutor also "released a report from the state Attorney General's Office that he says exonerates his office of any allegations prosecutors knew about" the exculpatory evidence prior to trial. Matwiejczyk claims he gave the new evidence to the defense during the trial, but the defense attorney is uncertain whether it was provided during the trial or only after the trial ended. In any event, it's clear that Matwiejczyk went forward with the trial despite his knowledge that the new evidence demonstrated McCollum's innocence. Matwiejczyk's response -- he didn't believe the new evidence was accurate, even though it was furnished to him by the police -- is feeble. Matwiejczyk deserves to have his apparent misconduct investigated.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 21, 2008 (boomark / email).